California has been at the forefront of online privacy protection since the state passed a truncated version of the GDPR privacy regulations established by the European Union. These regulations give Californians the right to know what personal information is being collected about them, whether that content is sold or disclosed (and to whom), and the ability to refuse to have that information shared.
For those in occupations that might be endangered by easy access to their home address, phone number and other private data, such as judges, social workers, and police officers, the California law has helped to lower the volume of online information for those who exercise these newfound rights.
That’s the good news.
More Protection is on its Way
Here’s the better news: As of January 1, 2023, the New California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) will take effect, and further California resident protections.
Prior to this amended law, employment data has been largely exempt from the obligations established by CPR. That will no longer be the case. For-profit businesses that collect personal information on California residents must comply with new restrictions if they have annual gross revenues of more than $25,000,000, or buy, sell, or share personal information of 100,000 or more residents or households. The law also applies to any company that derives more than half its revenues from selling or sharing this personal information.
When 2023 begins, these companies must make specific privacy disclosures to its employees, contractors and even job applicants, regardless of whether they are hired. These include letting them know they have the right to access whatever data is collected on them, and have it deleted.
This new law, and the privacy protection laws that are in place in other states, are important and necessary. But they are ineffective unless residents do their part and opt out of having their private data collected and stored. This is especially important for judges, police officers, social workers, and others in public-facing professions that come with inherent dangers.
How to Enforce These Laws
Requesting to remove your information is relatively easy. And if that were all that were necessary to preserve your privacy online, this country would be a better and safer place.
But it’s not.
Websites routinely ignore privacy laws until someone tells them to stop. And after complying with a privacy request, they often restore the content they removed weeks or months later.
That is why so many superior courts and police organizations rely on 360Civic's IronWall360 privacy protection service to keep them safe. Protecting your home address from being displayed online should not be your full-time job – you already have one. It is our full-time job, and we scan sites regularly and make sure your personal information comes down and stays down.
Signing up for protection is easy.
